Alistair Darling added that without the deal the outlook was “very bleak indeed…We were onto their (HBOS’s) problem for several weeks. It didn’t just suddenly happen…”

So who was lying?

The architecture of City regulation is a mess. The FSA is despised and nobody in the City respects it. The Bank of England has been undermined deliberately by Gordon because it was a threat to his authority. The FSA should change remit and look after exclusively retail customer’s interests and the Bank should keep an eye on the City and re-take control of the Debt Management Office. The Treasury and the Bank should swap staff regularly and be on friendly terms, with the Treasury executing political influence through the Bank. The Bank is closer to the markets than the Treasury and so it should be to inspire confidence in the City…